长洲不算长 - Part 1

We expected the weather to be cooler in Cheung Chau compared to Kowloon. Really, it is a fishing village and an island. Without the shelter of tall buildings, it was really cooling on the first night @ the island. It was also raining when we went for dinner and many shops had to close early due to the change in weather. But, definitely no "typhoon", not like Taiwan in 2008 Xp.

Seafood @ Cheung Chau (Opp cake shop)

We searched around looking for hot claypot to warm ourselves and we decided to try those stalls with more people. More people likely to imply better food :P. We were allocated a BIG ROUND table - other tables were full with big big grp. I recalled there was an elderly ah ma seated in the table besides us - asking and reminding the young ones to study hard and work in civil service. Hmmm....could not rem when I last heard such advice in cantonese liao...long long time ago.
Dear dear likes to eat "shh shh prawns" so we ordered a plate. I thought they would come in big ones so I asked an innocent qn how many would we be expecting. No wonder the waiter didnt say much as we were served with smaller versions one. Ouch, quite hard to peel but at least we still managed to finish the "shh shh prawns" :P.  At least, the place kept us warm during the rainy period.
We wanted to order claypot toufu but dunno why we ordered the wrong ones. We got toufu soup with other ingredients - not bad though for the cold weather. I rem the last round when we were in Cheung Chau - we didnt try many of the food. So, this time round, we, or at least me, wanted to have a feast! Hee.
I am not a good fish eater - not a born Garfield. So, could not really feast on fish :P. I like to peel and de-shell for dear, so that she could eat it without using her hands. However, she is always much skilful than me. In fact, her family or my family-in-laws are all good sea food eaters, I am no match for them. So, rather than being a "hindrance", I will wait patiently to be served instead :P. No choice, cos not a Garfield lah.

新界 - 新天地 (New Territory)

This is the second time that we have decided to tread the "not-so-touristy" place.  This time, we went to Lung Yeuk Tua Heritage Trail - even the name sound "ulu" to many of us right? The place is at Fanling and we need to take a mini bus there too.  There supposed to be several walled villages and ancestral halls dated 1700s.  Didnt know Hong Kong still has such places.
The journey to the Heritage Trail was quite smooth but we went on Boxing Day - supposed to be holiday for Hong Kong. So no crowd, quite quiet. The first walled city we saw was guarded by a big fierce dog - we have to retreat instead of moving into the city. There was also a warning sign on the wall alerting visitors not to enter and disturb the local habitants.  We chanced upon a pair of friends who also came to visit the place - they informed us that during weekdays, there would be tour guide who could allow us in. Next time bah, they said.
Hmm... the Tung Ching Ling Ancestral Hall was also closed when we were there. So, we decided to wander around following 2 caucasians ahead of us. Fierce dogs barking along the way - as usual my tripod would be a "shield" to protect against any risk :P.  Hee, I was amazed by my "spider tripod" though - so happy to have bought it as it was really handy and flexible. Dear said it caught the attention of many when I used it to take pics.

We strolled slowly along the rural areas of Hong Kong - quite peaceful feeling without noisy traffic, horns, skyscapers... I enjoyed the stroll with my dear especially during the cool cool weather. We occassionally saw some country folks passing by and wondered if they realised we were foreigners or just city dwellers coming back to home town for holidays hee. 
I was told that I didnt take "photographs" this trip ... the kind of photographs that we used to take. One reason was my dear's D80 was on medical leave - dunno what happened.  Actually, I was putting on the hat of a wedding photographer, trying to capture some nice shots for our wedding mah. Well, I did feel a bit "lost" when my Canon D400 was unable to partner my dear's Nikon D80...
At the turning point of the path where we chanced upon a group of letter boxes, I started to appreciate our own letter boxes. Hee. We saw another walled village and I wanted to follow a group of people into the village but dear dear said they were the local inhabitants. Well, must listen to dear dear and also obey the rules stated on the walled village.
Dunno when I started to enjoy looking at old heritage stuff - a different aspect of modern life. Maybe the old buildings and old way of enjoying life can slow down the busy pace of modern life, giving us a sense of real rest and real peace. Hee, I do hope next time we can bring our kids to backpack and trek the old routes as well... and hopefully I can be a competent tour guide then *grin grin* 

当我们同在一起

The modes of transport are very interesting in Thailand. So, thought of dedicating a blog to the transportation "thots" I have for the trip.  Sometimes, I do wish that we could travel by river boats to our place of destination. As a backpacker, bicycle is a usual mode of transport.  We rented our bicycles in Sukothai and the rates were very reasonable and the bikes were quite hardy for the rough and dirt tracks that we planned to travel Xp.  Well, I love to cycle around the ruins and I could not imagine how one can walk around in the big complex on foot.  It was important to secure our bikes together at each historical spot - Bikes locked together while we walked and snapped our pictures together.

当我们同在一起, 脚车也扣在一起.

We spotted an interesting tuk-tuk plate no in Sukothai. I wondered whether all the tuk-tuks in Old City have the same plate no. or the "No1" tuk-tuk was really the Number 1.  I thought it would be interesting to shoot a photo with this "No1" - and hence we consumed a few bytes with this "No1" tuk-tuk. Business for this No1 wasnt No1 though - as most of the visitors were on their own wheels.

当我们同在一起, old city也变new了.

Songtheaw is more common in ChiangMai. We got to share the Songtheaw with other passengers who happened to travel along the way. Bargaining was a challenge especially if you encountered older driver. We tend to support them since they were still working so hard at older age.  The driver who we hired was relatively old too, but he was a nice grandfatherly-look guy. He went extra miles by asking us to alight half way to take pictures of ChiangMai town from the mountain. He explained using thai and hand languages which we managed to understand that there would be heavy fog up the mountain which we might end up not able to get the bird-eye-view of the town. 
I didnt like to stick to timings or fixed schedules when travelling and taking my DSLR. My dear reminded me to be punctual and so we guai guai sticked to the timings that we agreed with Uncle Songtheaw. Xp. Actually, my dear is more kind than me.

当我们同在一起, 我们都可以更上一层楼.

Train is our fav this round too. Very clean and comforty - it has enuff leg room too. A funny encounter was that we were trying to figure out how to dis-assemble the tables/ceilings to transform them into beds for both of us.  I got stuck with trying to transform the tables/chairs into beds - have to give up and observe how others do it. Well, in the end, we realised that we needed a particular screwdriver to unlock the catch and transform into upper and lower beds for resting. So funny.

当我们同在一起, 一起 malu也没关系.

Like the river boat alot. It is one of the best way of seeing Thailand without trapped in the heavy traffic and heavy fumes. U get to mingle around with locals and it is a relatively cheap transport. No traffic lights, just whistles here and there to signal each new stop.  On top of that, the sun, the sky and the river....

I didnt remember when was the last boat back to Saphan Taksin which we could catch the BTS back.  So, we tried our luck waiting for the boat at 1900hrs++. Earlier we had our ChangBeer and Onion Rings. We saw some locals still waiting for boat so we assumed there would still be a boat back.  The river traffic really dies down after 6plus in the evening. Not much motor engines, whistles and noise. Chao Phraya River was serene and quiet - very different from the morning peaks.  Of cos, we got into a boat - lesser people - but still similar speed.  Hee, lucky still got boat which solved our issue of getting back to town.

当我们同在一起, 真快乐无比.

泰国食物篇

好想带你去走走...

I have been to Thailand for many times - every time I chanced upon yummy local Thai food, I wanted to share with my loved ones. I recalled calling my parents with excitement about nice local food. Of cos, it would be ideal if I could share the food with my loved ones.  I love thai food. Actually, I am a "chilli" or "spicy food"-lover. I do not eat "hot food" in Singapore cos they are not as "hot" as in Thailand. My dear can eat spicy food too. And I have planned our "food itinerary" way before we started our backpack.

Thailand local markets are very colourful. I remembered I last visited similar colourful market in Kelantan. Usually, I would walk up the stairs to take plan view of the market. We visited a very old and historical wet market in Chiang Mai. Never been there before during my last trip with my buddies. The walk to the market was a little bit difficult only cos the map we have was not drawn to scale. Food and goodies of many varieties were sold there. We saw a group of visitors learning from the food vendor on "how-to-cook" recipe. Hee, I always believe wet market is best visited early in the morning 6 o'clock but it's hard to wake up early in the morning 6 o'clock. Hmm...next time must really try and see the life of wet market in the morning. Wakie wakie.... actually I m really lazy to wake up that early.

知道你爱吃甜, 很早就想买给你...要等等一下下了...
The sliced and processed fruits should be very nice too - quite appealing. We didnt buy any in Chiang Mai. However, we did purchase some processed tibits in MBK, Bangkok. If you like Mango, you can go to the BTS at National Stadium and try the samples of processed Mango there. Very nice and yummy. You'll love it.  Good thing about processed and packet fruits - you wont get to see honey bees, Xp.

I'm actually a cookies-person too. Whenever I see cookies, they remind me of my stay at my grandma's place in Circuit Road. Grandma used to buy me nice cookies at the stalls - I could not remember how much per gram liao but they tasted very nice. Plain cookies and pineapple cookies are my favourite. I remembered I loved to eat cookies in the shape of alphabets and numbers. Good old childhood days.

最喜欢跟你一起吃东西, 家常便饭都开心...

One of the best delicacies that we discovered during this Thailand trip was from Kudee Jeen.  My dear found it in the newspaper Bangkok Post and we decided to start our journey venturing into the small christian community in Bangkok. We visited the family selling this special baked biscuit - it was known as "Kanom Farang".  One sweet ingredient that we know was 冬瓜糖.  The taste of this Kanom Farang" was fantastic when it was hot from the oven! Of cos, no venture no gain. We were nearly lost in the maze finding the house and luckily two motorists provided free transport to lead us there. According to the owner, this Kanom Farang's recipe is passed down from generation to generation and not many foreigners or even locals know about it. 

Very interesting though - the owner didnt know that their shop was featured in the Bangkok Post newspaper. My dear wanted to give them the copy for souvenir as it was of no use to us. Hee, I thought of keeping it as the copy still contained other information about the "off-the-beaten" tracks of Bangkok. Well, the owner declined our offer - probably they could get a copy easily.

Backpacking is also about trying different food - especially local food. Of cos, it would be tiring and hot to walk miles and miles but I feel it's worthwhile. The journey is as important as the outcome or destination. No matter how "siong" the journey is, we will enjoy it when we walk the journey together.

[All Photos - courtesy of my dear dear]  

清迈 - 走进另一片天空

Chiang Mai - Northern part of Bangkok - my last visit was many years back, perhaps near to a decade ago. What images do you have when you hear about Chiang Mai? Padi fields, Long Neck Hill Tribes, Fair-looking Khun Thai or cool weather?
I remembered the ruined walls of ChiangMai, one Macdonald and the bowling game we have during the buddy trip. It was really a long long time and I wondered if I could remember some sights that my buddies and me have walked past before.   

We took the bus ride (about 5.5 hours) from Sukothai to Chiang Mai new bus station (Called Arcade Station). Dear has a point that we should take the bus at the stop outside our guesthouse instead of travelling back to Sukothai bus station - reason being the Sukothai-ChiangMai bus will still pass by the stop. I just wanted to make sure we could get seats seated together - well the tour operator managed to settle that though by re-arranging the passengers (most are army soldiers) on the bus before letting us board the bus - Good 5-star service I guess.  Hmm... just stubborn me at times too. The bus ride was better than the ride from Bangkok to Sukothai (about 7 hours). Bus was smaller though and "leg room" kinda limited.  

7-11 Kaya Bread

Kaya Bread became an interesting and sweet memory as part of the bus journey. Just want to make sure you are not hungry and also dun wan you to stay on the bus on your own for too long.

Chiang Mai seemed to have more restaurants - there were Burger King outlet, Grand Canyon Coffee which I dun remember seeing last time. We had our first meal near our guesthouse - our first guesthouse with a fridge plus a small balcony. I would recommend to anyone Trigong Residence as it is clean and accessible. Some of the delicacies that we liked are the Chiang Mai Noodles (yellowish curry) and Muesli. Well, dunno why Muesli tasted so nice in Chiang Mai - frankly I have not tried Muesli yogurt except Uncle Toby. "Aroy" - delicious in thai.
Chiang Mai was also the town that we walked long long (well, the best was yet to come). I liked to take slow walk and experienced the lifestyles of the locals. It was one such incident that we went into a local food stall and saw "Jolin-look alike". It was one such time that we walked in the rain trying to find a pier to take the river ride but ended up not taking. It was also one such encounter that we went into a IT mall that appeared to have no IT shops and food court.  

Tired may be, drenched may be. No matter what condition you are in, it is always nice and warm to have a place to rest and relax with your loved ones. Blisters on the toes may be, tanning on the skin may be. No matter what condition you are in, it is always nice and warm to have someone walking with you, going through the journey with you.

We went up to the Wat in the mountain too. Nice cool feeling. The songthaw driver was quite good, stopping at a pavilion half-way to let us take a clear picture of Chiangmai Town. It was also a refreshing feeling - at least at some high altitudes above sea water - no sweat, Xp. At least, we can remember one of the many Wats that we visited. We bumped into a "chang" too - it was tied to a pole near the entrance of the Wat. Probably the owner was waiting for customers to take a elephant ride bah.


The encounter at the post office in Chiang Mai was fun too. Simple little words and simple little things - I always believe that we dont need grand things to be happy. A little card can also do wonders.  I like to plant sweet surprises - the best is the least expected moment the least expected surprise. I realised a different meaning of surprise - there is no need to skilfully plant surprises - the best way is to plant it openly. Hee! 

I dun understand why the drinks/fruits vendors are so brave. I will be "freak out" when I see 101 honey bees flying besides me. The bees do have strict working and resting hours though. I always try to keep a lookout for such stalls when we go makan.  Very hard to concentrate on eating if you feel that you are very vulnerable to stings here and there. Nonetheless, it is still a unique scene at the market - though I want to avoid seeing, but it helps to complete the picture of a real wet market?


 

重返 Sukothai

It is one of my travel aspirations to go back to Sukothai and stay near the historical park - to wake up early in the morning (6 O'clock), catch the morning market activities and the routine lifestyle of the people in the old town of Sukothai.  So, we backpacked into the guesthouse that was just situated opposite the historical park =). 
It is interesting to take a stroll along the old town in the evening or morning (think quite tough for us to wake up that early though as sunrise in Thailand is usually before 6 am). The town was quite quiet and peaceful - no nite food bazaar as compared to the new town. However, the evening market was equally interesting - we bought my fav thailand longan and most interesting was we bought local "bermudas". We probably will only wear it during our backpacking trip in Thailand bah - the donning of the berms also need certain skills - "tie here, tie there, everywhere tie tie".

绝不会忘记要看日落, 终于可以一起看日落了. 两个人, 两副相机, 两辆单车, 感觉很好.
Went back to the same spot that I have previously sat to wait for the sunset. We met a group of "khun thai" (Thai people) who were waiting for the sunset as well. The ladies told us that the scene would be fantastic, just like the postcard pictures. There was a group of family having picnic - something that I would like to do so last time too.  We did the same this time - feasting on our longans and our mineral water as we were still early. Though the weather was cloudy and maybe we might not see a round round sunset, it was equally enjoyable.
We switched location to a Wat near the pond - it was nearer to the entrance/exit and we could also capture the Wat with the sunsetting backdrop. There were no lamp posts in the park as the sky grew darker.  My dear asked me what I meant to see a sunset - must a round round red sun setting constitutes a sunset? It was something that I did ponder for a while. In photography, we could hide the sun behind a lamp post, a building or a mountain if we are unable to get a nice round sunset - the picture will be equally inspiring. Perhaps, I am a perfectionist? Craving for the perfect round round red red sun setting right in my eyes Xp. Funny that some times when we aspire to take certain pictures framed in our mindsets, we ignore or totally oblivious of the other equally good pictures that we could take. No red round round sun setting could also be beautiful as well.
By 1900hrs, the park was really dark and we cycled towards the entrance to find our way out. Gates locked and closed! Luckily, there was a small "lobang" besides the gates where we could still push our bicycles through, taking care not to touch the barb wires. Subsequently, I recalled that was my "escape" route during my last trip as well. Poor memory me.
We like the peacefulness of Sukhothai. Kampong style, light traffic, Sukothai noodles, friendly locals... we enjoy cycling past padi fields, herds of buffaloes and rivers as well as background Thai music of some open air "food court".  Teaching my dear how to speak Thai and "forcing" her to communicate in Thai to local street vendors is equally amusing too. Under the hot sun, blue sky, scent of grass, low decibels - it is an experience that we treasure. 
It is an experience that I long for.

暖暖的脚车行

"都可以随便的, 你说的我都愿意去"
When is the last time you have cycled for 20 km in half a day? We have not done so - not even during my Sukothai cycle trip Xp. Today we have done it.
The distance markings on the bitumen track, the fierce-looking "Snoopy" waiting to cross the heavy traffic, the lizards idling on the walls of resting shed, the waves making noise against the breakwater, the swings and the sand, the bright hot sun, the roaring loud airplanes... the trail from Changi Village to East Coast and back.

"细腻的喜欢, 毛毯般的厚重感, 晒过太阳熟悉的安全感"


The bikes are not as comfortable though - sitting position also not very comfortable plus we did not put on protective tan lotion :O. Of cos, I have always wanted to get a good tan. Very funny, cycling seems so "competitive" when we on the road - trying to complete the tough 20 km. Very funny too, it is fun despite under the hot sun and with the sweaty back.  Of cos, must be prepared for muscle ache the next day Xp.

"我想说其实你很好, 你自己却不知道"

The trail is very meaningful for us - special significance that we are willing to take up the "hot challenge" to paddle there and even rest for a while though resting will make us more tired Xp. Amazing if we could do our paddle when all the park connectors are completed - around Singapore. Yes, I hope we could do it one day - guess it will be fun and of cos have to prevent tanning by then.

"爱一个人希望他过更好, 打从心里暖暖的, 你比自己更重要"
Changing and playing fun with the lyrics - it helps to shift the mind from the tiredness in paddling to completing the journey. It helps when you know that's someone besides going through the journey - the slopes with 45 degree gradient or the S-course with sharp turn - and the nice food waiting for you upon completion of the journey, Hee!

爱一个人就要去cycle..........................